


How the Mighty Fall

by coockie8



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, Master/Slave, Orgy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sexual Slavery, Slave Trade
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:14:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29360118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coockie8/pseuds/coockie8
Summary: Arthur and Merlin get kidnapped by a sex slaver named Ascelin after being tricked into venturing into the countryside, and must come up with a plan to escape before they're auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Relationships: Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)/Original Male Character(s), Merlin (Merlin)/Original Male Character(s), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Others/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 40





	1. Captured

**Author's Note:**

> Time for me to write more fucked up shit. As the tags and summary would suggest, this fic contains sex slavery and non-con. If you can't stomach that, don't read it.

Merlin's feet pounded against the forest floor as he and Arthur ran for their lives. They'd been sent to retrieve some artifact wreaking havoc in the countryside and had been ambushed by what appeared to be bandits. Now they were running, because despite how amazing Arthur was, he couldn't take them all on. Not alone. Well… He wasn't alone, but Merlin couldn't very well use his magic in front of him.

They rounded into a small gully and came to a quick halt. A tall, pale but handsome man stood in their way. He had a small group of bandits behind him

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," The man greeted with a smirk.

Merlin winced and shifted closer to Arthur when the bandits that had been chasing them closed in from behind…

"This is  _ bad _ ," He whispered urgently.

Arthur panted softly to catch his breath

"Not exactly how  _ I'd _ describe it," He said to the man.

That earned him an almost fond chuckled

"Now, now, a little exercise never hurt anyone," The man purred "But where are my manners? My name is Ascelin-" He gave a deep, flourishing bow "-Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Ascelin straightened up and grinned

"Now are you going to come quietly, or are my men going to have to rough you two up a bit?"

Merlin hooked onto Arthur's arm a bit and whimpered as a sword was pressed into the small of his back. Arthur glanced around, likely weighing their odds before reluctantly dropping his sword and raising his hands in surrender. Ascelin smirked

"Good boy."

They were bound in the back of a carriage now, surrounded by bandits. Ascelin was in the carriage with them, sitting on the seat across from them, eating an apple. Arthur was fiercely glaring at him, but seeing as he and Merlin were bound together, there wasn’t much he could do.

“Don’t look so sour, my Prince,” Ascelin hummed “You’ll fetch a  _ nice  _ price.”

Arthur’s glare dropped and he paled a bit

“You’re a slaver…” He muttered.

Ascelin looked up and smirked

“Isn’t it obvious?” He purred.

Merlin kept his eyes on the man. Something about felt… Off, and Merlin couldn’t put his finger on it. Arthur took a breath

“If  _ I’m  _ the one who’ll ‘fetch a nice price’, then why did you take my servant?” He huffed.

Ascelin chuckled under his breath

“I won’t complain about extra product,” He cooed “He may not be worth as much as you, but he’s still more gold.”

Arthur scowled and lowered his gaze. Merlin sniffled and grabbed Arthur’s hand. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to being sold.

“You’ll be cleaned up, trained for a few weeks, then auctioned off to the highest bidder,” Ascelin informed before a smirk broke his features “I was actually a bit surprised by how easy it was to convince Uther to send his only heir out like that.”

Arthur snapped his head up

“What!?” He gaped.

Ascelin took a bite of his apple

“Oh yeah,” He snickered before swallowing “You’d be surprised what gold can buy. Your ‘trusted advisor’ who informed your King of the ‘dangerous magical artifact wreaking havoc in the countryside’ was working for  _ me _ .”

Merlin slumped a bit and whimpered. He  _ knew  _ something was off about this stupid quest… It had felt way too similar to the Witchfinder incident. When he’d asked Gaius about it, he’d said that he’d never heard of a magical artifact that could bring the woods to life on its own. That it would’ve needed a sorcerer to utilize it for that purpose. But they’d just chalked it up to no one having  _ seen  _ a sorcerer.

Now it made sense that it hadn’t made sense, because it had all been a trap.

“Why go to all the trouble?” He asked “Is Arthur really worth  _ that  _ much?”

Ascelin shrugged

“Could be. It’s more of an investment. I’m sure there are tons of rich nobles out there who would pay  _ any  _ price to get their hands on the Prince of Camelot,” He hummed “I mean, what a power display, right?”

Arthur scoffed and squeezed Merlin’s hand a bit

“Shut it,” He scolded softly.

Merlin bit his lip and lowered his gaze. Ascelin cocked an eyebrow at that before leaning forward a bit

“So tell me, and it’ll be so much easier if you just cooperate,” He started with a cat-like grin “Are either of you pretty boys virgins?”

Merlin’s face immediately went tomato red and he turned his head away. Arthur blushed a bit as well but narrowed his eyes

“What does  _ that  _ matter?” He scowled.

Ascelin blinked slowly for a moment before leaning back again

“Really?” He chuckled “I’m a  _ slaver _ , why do you  _ think  _ it matters?”

Arthur lowered his gaze for a moment in thought before snapping it back up in horror. Ascelin nodded curtly

“There we go,” He praised “I’m a  _ sex  _ slaver.”

He tossed the apple core out the window of the carriage and crossed his legs.

“Of course, I don’t  _ really  _ care what my clients do with my slaves  _ after  _ they’ve been purchased, but I do specialize in concubines, so  _ that  _ is what you will be trained in.”

Arthur gagged softly and turned his head away

“You’re sick…” He huffed.

Merlin was trembling now. He had a nagging suspicion that Ascelin wasn’t asking because he  _ didn’t  _ deal in virgins… 

“I… I still don’t understand why it matters…” He stammered.

Ascelin cocked an eyebrow and smirked when Arthur winced and shook his head

“I’m guessing you  _ are  _ a virgin,” He purred, leaning forward to grip Merlin’s chin and turn his head “It matters, dear, because virgins cost more. They’re coveted.”

Merlin blinked before lowering his gaze

“Oh…” Was all he managed.

He supposed that made sense, and he sort of wished he’d thought of it  _ before  _ unintentionally outing himself.

“ _ This  _ is why I told you to shut it,” Arthur grumbled.

Ascelin just shot him a smirk

“Now, now, the more obedient you are, the less you’ll need to be disciplined,” He reminded “So really, if you  _ don’t  _ want to get hurt, you should answer my questions and do as you’re told.”

Merlin snorted at that a bit

“Arthur? Do as he’s told? You’ve got a  _ long  _ few weeks ahead of you.” It was out before he could stop it, and he winced.

Ascelin released Merlin’s chin and leaned back

“Is that so? Good, sounds like I’ve got a  _ fun  _ few weeks ahead of me,” He purred “An obedient slave is easy money, but a feisty slave is so fun to  _ break _ .”

Merlin shuddered and bit his lip

“Sorry…” He muttered in Arthur’s direction.

“Then  _ shut. It. _ ” Came Arthur’s bitey reply.

Merlin snapped his mouth shut and shrunk in on himself a bit. Ascelin hummed under his breath and looked out the window

“I’m sure you’re not exactly comfortable, but this is going to be a long ride, so you might as well get some rest,” He commented.

Arthur leaned back against Merlin a bit and squeezed his hand again. It was  _ then  _ Merlin realized they were still holding hands. He hadn’t considered how terrified Arthur was until that moment. He wanted to reassure him that everything would be okay, and they’d get out of this, like they always did, but he couldn’t. Partly because their captor was sitting less than five feet from them, and because he couldn’t know that for sure. He didn’t know enough about Ascelin. But there was hope. As long as they were still alive, there would always be hope...


	2. Magic Buzz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Merlin discover their captor has Magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is when the plot really begins.

It took a while, but Merlin had eventually fallen asleep, despite the awkward position. But now, they'd stopped for the night and had made camp. He was still bound to Arthur, but no longer back to back. They were tied at the wrists, which also bound them to the carriage. It gave them a little more wiggle room, but not much.

He shifted a bit closer to Arthur and sniffled. It was cold, and he was scared. Ascelin had a horribly unsettling vibe to him, even for a slaver. Arthur kept a glare on the man, yanking Merlin close when he glanced over. Merlin certainly wasn't complaining. The closeness allowed him to leech some of Arthur's warmth and helped him feel more secure.

"Any plans on how we're going to get out of this?" He whispered.

Arthur just shook his head a bit, still glaring at their captor. Ascelin cocked an eyebrow and smirked

"Problem, your Highness?" He snickered, twirling a knife around in one hand.

Arthur just sneered at him before looking away. Merlin whimpered under his breath and shifted closer to Arthur when Ascelin stood and approached them. He knelt and roughly gripped Arthur's chin, yanking him forward

"I asked if you had a problem?" He purred, lips mere inches from Arthur's.

Merlin had stumbled forward a bit, having been forced to follow Arthur by the binds

"Please!" He squeaked.

Ascelin glanced over at him before shoving Arthur away and returning to his spot in front of the campfire. Merlin quickly hooked onto Arthur’s arm and took a deep breath. Arthur took one of Merlin’s hands and held it

“It’s alright,” He assured “I’m okay.”

Merlin lowered his gaze. He was being a bit obvious in his concern, but given the situation, he really couldn’t help it.

“Try not to get yourself in trouble,” He muttered.

Arthur squeezed Merlin’s hand and shifted closer to him again, Merlin was practically in Arthur’s lap at this point

“You know that’s not going to happen. I get the feeling anything I do is going to set this guy off…” He grumbled.

Merlin gently rested his head against Arthur’s shoulder

“I know that, I’m just saying don’t go out of your way to get under his skin… Please,” He urged.

Arthur nodded and bumped his head against Merlin’s fondly

“I won’t,” He soothed.

Merlin waited up, pressed against Arthur, until Ascelin and his men were asleep. He perked up a bit and gently tugged on his binds.  _ Now  _ would be the perfect time to escape, if they could just get the ropes off. The one problem Merlin had encountered was that the rope didn’t seem to have a knot anywhere, it was just seamlessly wrapped around their wrists and around a rod attached to the carriage.

“Arthur… Do you have a dagger?” Merlin whispered.

Arthur glanced over at him and shook his head

“I  _ did _ , but the slaver took it off me,” He breathed “You can’t find a knot either?”

Merlin lowered his gaze and shook his head

“No…”

Arthur scoffed and looked around, perking up a bit when he caught sight of the hilt of a knife poking out of one of the bandits' coats. He was pretty close to them as well… 

“Merlin… Can you reach that?” He asked.

Merlin looked over at what Arthur was gesturing towards and frowned

“Not with my hands,” He huffed.

Arthur grit his teeth and sighed heavily

“Try with your foot,” He ordered softly, eyes darting between Ascelin and his men.

Merlin made a small, nervous sound before shifting as close to the bandit as possible, causing him to lie his head in Arthur’s lap, and outstretched his leg. He was able to get his foot a bit behind the hilt, but what little grip he managed was very poor, and he ran the extreme risk of waking the man up.

“I don’t think I can get it, Arthur,” He mumbled.

“Try.”

Merlin chewed the inside of his cheek and hooked his foot around the hilt as best he could before trying to drag it out. It slipped from his weak grasp and he huffed in frustration. It took a couple of tries, but Merlin eventually managed to get it out of it’s holster. And without waking the bandit up. He pulled it closer and grabbed it before quickly sitting up. The bandit had shifted and groaned a couple of times, and Merlin’s heart was in his throat

“ _ Never  _ make me do that again,” He whispered harshly while handing the knife off.

Arthur took it and just smirked

“No promises,” He teased while unsheathing the knife.

Merlin’s eyes widened in horrified disappointment when Arthur dug the blade into the rope and nothing happened. Arthur frowned in confusion and hacked away at the rope a few more times before slumping in defeat

“It’s enchanted…” He mumbled.

Merlin whimpered softly and slumped back against the carriage

“You’ve  _ got  _ to be kidding,” He whined under his breath “ _ How _ ? Did  _ you  _ see anyone use magic?”

Arthur shook his head slowly

“No… But clearly  _ someone  _ here is a sorcerer,” He grumbled.

Merlin glanced over at Ascelin. Yeah, someone here was a sorcerer, and Merlin had a feeling he knew who.

He didn’t get a wink of sleep that night, spent the whole thing just watching Ascelin. Now, they were in the carriage again. Merlin glanced down at their knotless rope binds

“Do you have magic?” He spoke up.

Arthur gave Merlin a look. Ascelin cocked an eyebrow before glancing at their binds and smirking

“Ah, so you’ve noticed my fancy rope,” He sighed contently “Yes. I have magic.”

He leaned forward, with his hand held out and conjured a flame in his palm. Arthur leaned away from it. Merlin stared into the fire before turning a slightly wounded look up to Ascelin’s eyes. People like this were why Arthur thought magic was evil… 

“And you use it to enslave people,” Arthur grumbled.

Ascelin pulled away, putting the flame out as he did

“I don’t enchant people. My magic is merely a tool to keep my slaves in line. I’d enchant a whip to do its job without needing me behind it, but I would  _ never  _ use my magic to get rid of a person's free will,” He drawled, a sadistic smirk slipping “It’s so much more fun to watch the fight fade from their eyes as they succumb to me, whether they like it or not, over time. No magic needed.”

Merlin averted his gaze. He yelped softly when Ascelin suddenly gripped his chin and forced his gaze forward

“You…” He breathed, ignoring the way Arthur protectively jerked against his binds and snarled “There’s something about you… I may just keep you for myself.”

Merlin pulled away and pressed as close to Arthur as he could, whimpering softly under his breath. Yeah, that  _ something  _ was Merlin’s own magic, that Ascelin could likely feel. It was like a quiet buzz, other people’s magic, and it was more often than not something you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it, which was why Morgana had likely never noticed it with Merlin.

Ascelin didn’t seem like the unobservant type, and he certainly wasn’t Morgana, who’d likely never noticed because, well… He was Merlin. No one in that castle ever suspected him. But Ascelin didn’t know him like that, so why hadn’t it clicked that it was magic that made Merlin feel different?

“Don’t touch him,” Arthur snarled.

Ascelin huffed a small chuckle and shook his head

“Oh? And what are  _ you  _ going to do about it?” He drawled “You’re unarmed and bound by an enchanted rope. I could take him here and now, and the only thing you’d be able to do is sit there and watch.”

Merlin’s eyes widened and he paled as he shrunk away in fear. Ascelin clearly caught on to his unease

“Relax,” He soothed “Virginity is something to be savoured. You will give it to me willingly, or I’m not interested.”

Merlin relaxed somewhat at that. He didn’t fully trust it, but he was completely at Ascelin’s mercy, so he didn’t have much of a choice.

“You do realize that means you're never getting it, right?” He muttered.

Ascelin grinned

“We’ll see about that,” He purred.

Merlin quickly averted his gaze and blushed deeply. Sure, he was bound and actively being kidnapped, but it was also clear Ascelin was flirting with him. So he had a lot of mixed emotions. Arthur scoffed

“So what? You’re the type of slaver who’s ‘good to his slaves’?” He grumbled sarcastically.

Ascelin nodded flippantly

“If they’re good to me,” He hissed “Behave and you’ll be rewarded, misbehave and you’ll be punished. It’s really quite a simple system.”

Arthur huffed and looked away.

“I do hope you’ll behave, I’d hate to have to scar that pretty, royal skin of yours,” Ascelin chuckled.

Arthur shot him a weak glare but didn’t retort. Merlin glanced between the two before clearing his throat

“Do we have much farther to go?” He wondered.

Ascelin looked out the window

“Maybe a day or so more of travelling,” He admitted.

They’d already been travelling for almost two days. Merlin was starting to get the feeling that wherever Ascelin based himself was  _ not  _ in Uther’s kingdom. Which meant it was unlikely they’d be found… He bit his lip, mentally scolding himself for having such grim thoughts. They’d been through worse… Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ascelin's pretty aloof for the most part, but make no mistake, he's still a very evil man. He's just also hella charming.


	3. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's horrible training begins and Merlin risks his life trying to protect him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a magic reveal in this fic, but not as soon as you guys think.

Merlin stumbled and fell forward on his hands and knees as he was roughly shoved into a cell. He quickly scrambled to his feet and towards the door just as it closed. He slammed his hands down on it

“Wait!” He called, only to be ignored.

Arthur had been brought off somewhere else, and that made Merlin  _ horribly  _ uneasy. He was stuck fighting with whether or not he should use his magic. Was Ascelin really the kind of person Merlin wanted knowing he was a sorcerer? Sure, Merlin had the power, but Ascelin had the experience, and he certainly didn’t  _ feel  _ like a pushover. Plus, Ascelin seemed like he knew his way around a sword, which was another point he held over Merlin.

If Ascelin’s magic failed him, he could still defend himself, Merlin… Not so much. He leaned back against the cell door and bit his lip. What should he do? He’d never felt so in over his head… He took a deep breath and steeled himself before turning around and muttering a spell that unlocked the door. He really had no choice, Arthur could be in danger.

He carefully opened the cell door and peeked outside. No guards. That was good. He crept out into the corridor and closed the cell behind him before quietly making his way down the hall. This was so stupid, he didn’t even know where Arthur was… And he had a feeling Ascelin didn’t take kindly to slaves escaping their cells. He approached another cell and stood on the tips of his toes to peer in through the small opening in the door.

It was a larger cell than the one Merlin had been in, and was packed full of scantily clad women, all with red hair. Merlin quickly pulled away and blushed deeply. He was certain he’d seen one of the girls' nipples… He glanced down the hall before looking back at the cell. He felt horrible having to leave them there… He bit his lip hard before heading down the hall. Arthur was his priority… Maybe he could come back for the rest of the slaves later…

Merlin quickly scrambled to hide behind a pillar when he heard two guards approaching. He squeezed himself as much into the darkness as he could as they walked by

“Where’s the boss?” One of them asked as he went.

“Said he wanted to train the Prince himself,” Came the other’s reply “He’ll be in the cellar for a while. Brat’s a feisty one.”

Merlin let a little smirk slip. Cellar. That meant down. He quietly came out from behind the pillar, watching as the guards walked away before taking off to find anything that led down.

He spent, in his opinion, far too much time wandering around, alone, in hostile enemy territory, and he was starting to get a touch paranoid. He’d almost been caught a couple of times now. He rounded a corner and smacked right into a guard, which knocked him to the ground. He paled and stiffened, just staring wide-eyed up at the man.

“Looks like we’ve got an escapee,” He chuckled sadistically, unsheathing his sword and holding it to Merlin’s throat “The boss will want to deal with you personally, so be a good little boy and come along nicely.”

Merlin relaxed somewhat. Not exactly what he’d had in mind, but at least he’d get Ascelin’s attention off Arthur

“I’ll be good,” He mumbled while pushing himself to his feet.

The guard nodded curtly and roughly grabbed Merlin by the arm, dragging him along, in the complete opposite direction Merlin had been heading, which made him wince and blush a bit. In his defense, he wasn’t exactly familiar with this castle.

They headed down several flights of stairs and came to a trap door at the end of a long hallway. The guard pulled it open and unceremoniously shoved Merlin inside. He fell with an undignified squeak and landed in a heap on the ground.

“Ow…” He muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

He yelped and jerked away when someone approached, averting his gaze when he saw it was Ascelin. The guard seemingly refused to follow him down

“Found him wandering the halls. No clue how he got out of his cell!” He called before closing the trap door and walking away.

Merlin flinched at the sound of a whip cracking, followed by a muffle cry. He scrambled to his feet and tried to lunge towards Arthur, who’d been stripped, gagged, and bound to the wall, with an enchanted whip going to town on his back. Ascelin grabbed Merlin with an arm around his waist before he could get very far

“Ah, ah,” He scolded fondly “Don’t interrupt his punishment.”

Arthur’s back had already been ripped to shreds and he was sort of just… Dangling by the shackles around his wrists that held him up. Tears welled up in Merlin’s eyes and struggled hard against Ascelin’s grip

“Stop! Please!” He begged “You’ll kill him!”

Ascelin rolled his eyes before waving his hand, causing the whip to drop. Arthur let out a shuddering, muffled breath of relief. Merlin broke free from Ascelin’s grip, though a part of him was sure he’d just been released, and he hurried to Arthur’s side, taking his coat off and covering him with it. He was bleeding so badly, and he swore, now that he was up close, that the whip had cut to the bone in some places. Merlin couldn’t imagine Arthur had done  _ anything  _ bad enough to warrant a punishment  _ this  _ severe.

Ascelin approached and picked up the whip

“Maybe now he’ll know not to bite me,” He snickered.

Arthur weakly pulled on his binds and gave Merlin a pleading look. Merlin reached up and tugged on the shackles

“Let him down!” He snapped in Ascelin’s direction, no longer really thinking about the consequences.

Ascelin cocked an eyebrow at Merlin as he set the whip down on a wooden table in the corner that was littered with other torture instruments

“I’d watch that tone if I were you, unless you want to take his place.”

Merlin turned completely towards him

“Fine! I will! Just let him down!”

Ascelin’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened a fraction in surprise before he hooded them and smirked

“Oh~” He purred “I see now…”

Merlin averted his gaze for a moment. He didn’t know exactly what Ascelin  _ thought  _ he saw, but Merlin had a feeling it was nothing good. He shifted closer to Arthur as Ascelin approached before relaxing somewhat when he reached up to unlock the shackles. Merlin quickly caught Arthur as he crumpled to his knees

“My Lord?” He worried, holding Arthur close.

He let out a shuddering breath when Arthur didn’t respond. He turned his face a bit and whimpered; Arthur had passed out, likely due to the pain. Or blood loss. One or the other.

“He’s going to bleed to death… Please,” He begged.

Ascelin knelt and put a hand on Arthur’s back, muttering a spell. His eyes glowed and the wounds on Arthur’s back closed just enough to stop the bleeding. Merlin pressed his forehead against Arthur’s cheek and sniffled 

“I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t hurt him,” He pleaded.

Ascelin stood and leaned against the wall

“You two have quite the bond, for a master and servant,” He commented “But I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that. He needs to be trained. I won’t hurt him if he behaves.”

Merlin looked up at Ascelin with pleading eyes

“He’ll  _ never  _ behave… He’s not the type to just give in like that…” He muttered.

Ascelin shrugged

“Then he best  _ become  _ the type. Scars lower the value of a slave, so I don’t want to have to mark him too much,” He drawled.

Merlin sniffled and looked down at Arthur

“Let me stay with him… Please,” He whimpered.

Ascelin approached and crouched down to be eye level with Merlin, just looking him over for a moment before smirking and pulling away

“As you wish. Savour the time you have, for you likely won’t be sold together,” He chirped before returning to the table, grabbing the bloody whip, and leaving.

Merlin flinched a bit when the trap door locked. He sniffled before shuffling into a corner, pulling Arthur along with him. He rested Arthur’s head in his lap, keeping him on his side so he wouldn’t reopen the wounds on his back. He carded his fingers through Arthur’s hair

“I’m sorry,” He breathed “I’ll keep you safe.”

Arthur shifted a bit and nuzzled Merlin’s stomach, whimpering softly in his sleep when Merlin’s coat rubbed against his wounds. Merlin rested his head back against the wall and sighed heavily. What was he supposed to do now?

Merlin must have fallen asleep at some point, because he was startled awake suddenly by a bucket of water being tossed over him. Arthur shot up and scrambled away, yelping in pain when his back bumped against the wall. Ascelin just shot them a cheeky smirk

“Rise and shine, lovelies,” He teased “I’ve only got two weeks to make you both perfect, and  _ you  _ are a defiant little brat.”

With that, he grabbed Arthur by the wrist and yanked him to his feet. Arthur struggled against Ascelin’s grip as he was dragged towards the shackles. Merlin quickly hopped up

“Stop!” He panicked, darting to put himself between Ascelin and the chains.

Ascelin huffed in frustration, eyes glowing as he jerked his head to the side, using magic to throw Merlin out of his way

“I have very little patience right now, dear,” He scoffed.

Merlin slumped against the wall and groaned softly. He’d hit his head pretty bad and now the room was spinning. Arthur immediately stopped struggling

“I’ll behave! Just-” His voice died and he took a breath to calm himself “-Don’t hurt him…”

Ascelin smirked knowingly and released Arthur’s wrist

“As I suspected,” He commented, more to himself than anything “Kneel.”

Arthur crinkled his nose a bit before reluctantly obeying, dropping to his knees and glaring up at his captor. Ascelin cupped his jaw and ran a thumb over his bottom lip

“So pretty,” He praised “But let’s see if you have any talent.”

He used his free hand to release his cock from his trousers. Arthur’s eyes widened a fraction and he averted his gaze bashfully. It was easily the biggest cock he’d ever seen, and certainly the biggest he’d ever had to…  _ Service _ .

“I assume you know how to please a man?” Ascelin teased, tugging Arthur’s bottom lip down just slightly “You have such pretty lips after all… Though not quite as  _ full  _ as your servant’s.”

Arthur swallowed thickly and narrowed his eyes

“Don’t speak of Merlin in that manner,” He grumbled.

Ascelin just smiled

“You’re right,” He purred “It’s  _ you  _ we’re focusing on today.”

Arthur flinched away a bit when the head of Ascelin’s cock touched his lips. He didn’t want to do this, but it was clear Ascelin wasn’t above punishing  _ Merlin  _ for Arthur’s transgressions. He leaned forward and took the head into his mouth, teasing the slit with his tongue. He’d done this before, he knew what to do. Ascelin tangled a hand in Arthur’s hair

“Much better,” He praised “It would seem that all you need is the right incentive.”

Arthur closed his eyes so he wouldn’t glare and just bobbed his head along the length in his mouth. Admittedly, this was an act he usually enjoyed. There was just something about focusing completely on his partner’s pleasure that got him off in the best way. But now, all he could focus on was  _ not  _ clamping his teeth down around the extremely unwelcome intrusion. He’d bitten Ascelin on the hand before, and knew now what the consequences would be… Even if it hadn’t been Merlin being threatened, Arthur would have behaved. He’d never received a whipping that bad before in his life, and given the current state of his back,  _ really  _ didn’t want a repeat any time soon.

Merlin pushed himself up a bit, shaking his head in an attempt to clear the dizziness. It didn’t help. He glanced up at Arthur and Ascelin, blushing deeply at the scene. The sight of Arthur on his knees servicing another man made  _ something  _ twist in Merlin’s gut. He crawled forward on his knees until he was seated next to Arthur, and sluggishly rested his head against his shoulder. Arthur flinched and pulled off Ascelin’s shaft to glance over at Merlin. Ascelin cocked an eyebrow before snapping his fingers, pulling Arthur’s attention

“Focus, your Highness,” He sneered.

Arthur grabbed Merlin’s hand and gave it a fond squeeze before getting back to his task. Merlin shook his head a bit again. He was unbelievably dizzy, and was certain he was bleeding. Ascelin released Arthur’s hair to curl a hand around Merlin’s head, digging his fingers into the nasty cut where it had hit the wall, causing Merlin to whimper in pain. Arthur immediately pulled off again and snapped his teeth as a warning. Ascelin snorted a small chuckle and let go of Merlin’s head

“Easy,” He soothed “I was only checking the wound.”

Arthur’s heart sunk at the sight of blood on Ascelin’s hand. He looked down at Merlin again in concern

“You could have killed him…” He mumbled.

Ascelin put his hand on Merlin’s head again

“Indeed, and he could  _ still  _ die, if he’s bleeding inside,” He reminded “Please me, and I’ll heal him.”

Arthur swallowed thickly and nodded before leaning forward and eagerly taking Ascelin into his mouth, right to the root. He gagged a bit and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to continue. Merlin wasn’t looking so good, and Arthur couldn’t help but start to panic a bit. Ascelin tilted his head back and groaned, humping a bit into Arthur’s mouth

“Well, you’ve certainly done this before,” He chuckled breathlessly.

Arthur crinkled his nose and blushed deeply. Yeah, he’d fooled around with a few of his knights a couple of times, and he’d shared a heated, passionate night with Lancelot while he’d been in Camelot, so he knew what to do. It wasn’t like he was a virgin.

He pulled off to just the head and swirled his tongue around the tip, a little smirk slipping at the vivid memory of Lancelot tugging hard on his hair and letting out a startled yelp when he’d done the same to him. Ascelin’s hips stuttered forward a bit and he hissed

“Good boy,” He praised breathlessly.

Arthur shuddered a bit and blushed deeply in humiliation. He could admit he had a bit of a thing for being praised, but  _ now  _ so wasn’t the time for that. He peeked up at Ascelin before taking his into his throat and swallowing around him. Ascelin cursed and pulled hard on Arthur’s hair as he spilled his seed down his throat. Arthur choked, causing some of Ascelin’s spend to come out his nose, which burned like hell, and desperately tried to jerk away. Ascelin snickered as he held him in place

“You’ll need to learn to just swallow it,” He teased, releasing Arthur’s hair and wiping his nose with his sleeve “So you don’t choke.”

Arthur pulled away, grabbing onto Merlin so he wouldn’t fall over, and coughed. Ascelin tucked himself back in his trousers before kneeling in front of Merlin and looking him over. Merlin wobbled a bit and weakly squeezed Arthur’s hand, which he was still holding onto

“My… Head hurts…” He slurred.

Ascelin reached out and put his hand on Merlin’s head

“Take a breath,” He ordered before lowering his gaze and whispering a spell.

Merlin leaned weakly into the touch when Ascelin’s eyes started to glow. He could feel the magic repairing his wounds and couldn’t help but moan quietly as the pain just melted away. Arthur squeezed Merlin’s hand as he watched, riddled with concern.

“How does it feel?” He asked softly.

Merlin whimpered under his breath

“It’s… Hard to… Describe,” He admitted.

He stumbled forward a bit once he was fully healed and Ascelin pulled away

“You should get some rest,” Ascelin grumbled as he stood “You’re healed now, but brain injuries can be tricky.”

With that he turned and headed for the trap door to leave. Arthur glared at him as he went, and continued to do so even once he was gone, the trap door locked behind him. He winced when Merlin leaned against him

“Are you alright, Sire?” He worried.

Arthur gave him a look

“Me!?  _ I’m  _ not the one who got slammed into a wall and nearly  _ killed _ !” He exclaimed.

Merlin averted his gaze and blushed

“But you had to-” He cut himself off and his blush deepened.

Arthur sighed and fondly patted Merlin’s head, ruffling his hair a bit

“I’m fine, Merlin,” He assured “A little sore, but I’ll live.”

Merlin leaned in and bumped his head against Arthur’s, squeezing his eyes shut when tears started to well up in them

“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you,” He whimpered.

Arthur’s expression fell and he gently wrapped an arm around Merlin, raising his free hand to thumb his tears away

“Stop that,” He soothed “There’s nothing you could have done.”

Merlin sniffled and bit his lip. Oh, if only Arthur knew just how much Merlin  _ could  _ have done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin genuinely doesn't know if he could actually take Ascelin in a fight. Not one on one anyway. This fic takes place in like... Season 2? So Merlin's really not confident at all in his magic. That added on to the fact Arthur's there, he's sort of stuck on what to do. Like, he doesn't want to risk exposing his magic to Arthur if it wouldn't even be that helpful, so he's sort of just weighing his options at this point.

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the only fic that I actually have a vague plan for, so hopefully that means I'll be able to get chapters out a bit quicker. No promises, but I'll do my best :)
> 
> This is a sketch of Ascelin (He a spellsword): [](https://ibb.co/hZwyXb3)
> 
> If you liked it, consider dropping a comment. They really help keep me motivated.


End file.
